“It’s very clear to me that all the assumptions, all the rules that governed campaigns previous to 2010 are out the window,” Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dick Wadhams is quoted as saying. “What I do think is happening in Colorado and other states, is that endorsements don’t mean a darn thing in 2010, whether it be political committees or elected officials.”

The article comes as the Norton campaign has been working (starting in the conservative blogosphere) to dispense or at least neautralize the charge that she is the “establishment” candidate and to hang the “Washington insider” label on their surging opponent, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck.

“I am not the Washington insider in this race. That would be Ken Buck. Ken has a Washington insider 527 running over $1 million of ads on his behalf. And he received over a third of all his donations from employees of one company that relies on stimulus money and millions of dollars of special interests contracts,” Norton said.

And when the Buck campaign fired back that she has the backing of Sen. John McCain and is tight with Washington lobbyist Charlie Black, the Norton campaign “Rittered” him:

“Ken Buck was Governor Bill Ritter’s best man. If we’re going to play the guilt by association game, that’s an interesting connection.”

Only time will tell if the strategy will work. For now, the perception of Norton as the Washington-endorsed candidate persists, as Politico reported:

Wadhams notes that the mere appearance of the NRSC’s involvement in Colorado wounded GOP front-runner Jane Norton at the outset, when it appeared the committee had reserved several domain names for her campaign website. Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck was on the verge of pulling out of the race in August but said he was swayed by “hundreds” of e-mails and phone calls encouraging him to defy the NRSC’s wishes.

“Since then, they’ve been very uninvolved. They pulled back after that. I think committees and elected officials are going to find that they’re going to have to be much more careful about how they support candidates. The line they cannot cross is appearing to coronate a candidate. It’s a minefield to walk through,” Wadhams said.

So where does that leave us? With one of the most interesting, and closely watched, GOP primaries in the country.

For now, expect to see more fight from the Norton campaign and to hear lots of “grassroots” comments from both of the Republican candidates on the campaign trail.

Treasurer hopeful J.J. Ament’s campaign today unveiled a “fact check” page he says refutes the “false claims and “wild allegations” made by one of his Republican primary opponents.

Ament blasted Ali Hasan, saying the part-time filmmaker’s latest attack on him is like a movie script: based on actual events, but “largely fictional” and offering “some very misleading and financially inaccurate information (nearly 90 errors in the text alone).”

Ament’s news release is the latest volley in what has turned out to be a wild and woolly Republican primary for treasurer. Also running is Walker Stapleton.

The claims and counter claims by Hasan and Ament can be read by clicking here. Here’s a sample from Ament’s site.

Reality: Hasan is fully aware that his claims are false, but continues to assert them. Ament discussed the ethical safeguards he has taken, in detail and in public, with Hasan at a Treasurer’s forum at the Koelbel Library long prior to Hasan’s false mailing. Hasan continues to make these allegations in spite of the truth.

Hasan’s campaign fired back this afternoon, and posted his own response, which can be viewed by clicking here. The Hasan campaign:

“In this clash of credibility, who is to be believed? Hasan, a Colorado small business owner who wants to invest in Colorado? Or J.J. Ament, a CitiGroup banker? Why does J.J. Ament hate the idea of investing in Colorado?

“We stand by our facts, our endorsers stand by our facts, and we refuse to listen to the same bankers who put us into this bailout mess.”

The winner of the August primary will face state Treasurer Cary Kennedy, a Democrat.

Vice President Joe Biden is coming to Colorado to campaign for Betsy Markey. (The Associated Press)

The White House announced this morning that a limited number of tickets to Vice President Joe Biden’s public event in Longmont tomorrow will be made available on a first come, first served basis from noon to 5 p.m. today.

Here’s the release:

Washington, D.C. – Tomorrow, Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will visit the Denver, Colorado, area. At 12:00 PM MDT, the Vice President will deliver remarks at UQM Technologies, a leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance, energy-efficient electric drive systems. The Vice President will discuss how the Recovery Act is transforming the American economy through investments in innovation and technology. UQM Technologies has received $45 million in Recovery Act funding, allowing the company to build a new manufacturing facility to expand operations. This event is open press. Additional media details are below.

A limited number of general admission tickets will be available for the Vice President’s event. Tickets are limited to four per person, on a first-come, first-served basis. Public parking at the event is limited and carpooling is strongly encouraged. Tickets will be distributed at the following two locations today, Thursday, April 29th, from 12:00 – 5:00 PM MDT:

Jane Norton meets her new friend Wednesday night. On its tags, it's called "Akaya" but she's thinking about renaming the dog. She is standing with Ron McGuffee with Nucla Animal Control. McGuffee brought the pooch to Denver after its Moab owners abandoned it in Delta County.

It was a rainy night after the Montrose Lincoln Day dinner last Saturday when Jane Norton spotted a white, matted mongrel the size of a small pony on the “right side” of the road.

The Republican Senate hopeful was on a Western Slope swing. The dog’s white fur — and its sheer girth — caught her eye and she stopped. The pooch had tags, she put it in the back of the SUV and figured Animal Control could happily unite it with its owner. The beast was big and wet and smelled up the whole car.

The tags showed the owner lived in Moab. She left the dog with Nucla Animal Control and made her way back to Denver. The 120 pound dog, a white lab-like giant, was called Akaya. Supposedly, the owner left him for days at a time with 50 pound bags of dog food open. The owner, apparently, decided to abandon it in Delta County.

Norton got the call on Monday that Akaya had no home. She called her husband and asked if it was OK to keep it. They already have a Blue Heeler named Yazzi — also a rescued pooch.

“He asked how big it was,” said Norton, tensing her shoulders a bit. “I told him 120 pounds … He’s on a business trip so maybe by the time he gets back he’ll get used to it.”

Ron McGuffee brought Akaya to Denver Wednesday night and Norton was united with her new Western Slope friend.

She is thinking about renaming him, maybe Kemp after former vice presidential hopeful Jack Kemp. Or Monte — after Montrose County.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.